The great legislator Henry Clay once said “legislation is the art of compromise.” What he was talking about was not compromising on one’s principles, but putting ideology aside and working together to craft

solutions to the problems facing our nation. After months of debate and hard work, I’m pleased that Congress was able to do just that by reaching a bipartisan agreement that prevented us from defaulting on our financial obligations.

The reason we needed to act was clear. The impact of a default would have been catastrophic for Nevada. More than 400,000 seniors in our state could have lost their Social Security benefits. Nearly 350,000 Nevada seniors could have lost out on Medicare benefits. And nearly 250,000 veterans would have been at risk of having their benefits disrupted. That number doesn’t even include the active duty and reserve troops who could have stopped receiving their pay checks as they fight for our country.

Thankfully, these unthinkable scenarios never materialized. The compromise we crafted cuts spending and reduces our nation’s debt. However, it doesn’t do so on the backs of the most vulnerable Nevadans, as it provides important protections for Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries. We need to focus on getting Nevadans back on their feet, not pulling the rug out from underneath them.

While the good news is that we protected Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries, our work is really just beginning. We still face a jobs deficit in Boulder City and across Nevada and our country, and creating jobs must become Congress’ number one priority this fall. I have some ideas, including providing tax incentives to promote hiring, improving our infrastructure, reforming our patent system to promote innovation, supporting small businesses and giving manufacturers incentives to create clean energy jobs.

But I can’t do it alone. The answer to getting our economy back on track is not ending Social Security or turning Medicare over to a private insurance company. The answer is all of us working together in a bipartisan manner and focusing like a laser on getting Nevadans back to work.